The very first thing that anyone should do when they are in financial difficulties is to be honest about the situation. Hiding the truth from themselves as well as others only gets that poor person deeper into a hole that he may find difficult to get out of. When he has finally admitted that he needs some help, this is the perfect time to look for a bankruptcy attorney to lead him through the process and out the other side. Try searching for 'bankruptcy' to see which companies provide this service in the local area.
There will be many tell-tale signs that the person is sinking in debt well before the crisis point is reached. For example, taking out credit cards to pay off other credit cards is one of the worst things that anyone could ever do. Not only will they still not be able to pay off the debt, they will probably incur higher credit charges than they did before. That is, they will sink deeper into debt while trying to keep up payments.
Being brutally honest is possible the first step in finding out if trouble is coming. Sit down with the family and write down all the debts which must be paid every month. This is the vital ones like mortgage, fuel, car and credit cards etc.
Secondly, write down all the payments that are paid out which could possibly be dropped. This could include things like breakfast bought on the way to work, that mid-morning coffee run or other such frivolous expenses which add to the burden but which could possibly be dropped without too much hassle.
One point here is that people often do not count the odd five dollars spent on coffee etc. However, five cups per week add up to thirteen hundred dollars a year which could be even more if two people in the family are doing the same thing. Indeed, even if the kids are getting five dollars per day each for their lunches, the whole amount could just wipe out one credit card bill if packed lunches and flasks were used instead.
Minimum payments for credit card bills are also not a good idea since the interest will accrue very fast. Indeed, a five thousand dollar limit could grow to more than twenty thousand dollars in repayments if people do not keep an eye on it.
Negative equity is also a dirty word these days and people often find themselves owing more on their house or car than it is actually worth. The consequence is that even if they sold this object, they would still owe a debt but have no home or car to speak of.
The courts can help the debtor in some instances but this does indeed take the expertise of the professional who has seen it all before. The court may wipe out credit card debt completely, or restructure the debt so that the person has a chance to redeem himself. He should keep his main assets though and this is why people should be honest about what they owe.
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